Advice about living on a farm.

I Have Fibromyalgia

I’m Margaret (AKA: Margarita) 51 years old. Worked with horses training and showed them for most of my life. I was always on the go, very active. Thru the years I have had several injuries from the horses. My body was hurting all over and I thought it was from all the injuries.
In 2011 I woke up with fuzzy vision and a headache that felt like my head wanted to explode. My whole bode hurt. I made myself get out of bed so I could do my chores. That day was one of the worst days. I didn’t get everything done. I called my husband and told him I didn’t feel right and I was going to lie down for a while. That was at 9 am. My husband tried calling me several times. I never heard the phone. When he got home at 3 pm and saw me he took me straight to the hospital.
After many test the doctors could not find anything wrong with me. They finally said I had a stroke. The hospital sent me home. Said to contact our family doctor for a follow up.
I was so exhausted. All I did was stay in bed and sleep. (This was not me). After going to our family doctor for weeks and test after test he diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. I didn’t even know what Fibromyalgia was. Our doctor is great at explaining things in detail.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes muscle pain and fatigue (feeling tired). People with fibromyalgia “tender points” on the body. Tender points are specific places on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, and legs. These points hurt when pressure is put on them.
People with fibromyalgia frequently hurt all over and feel exhausted all the time. Those symptoms often force you to seriously limit your physical activity. It’s also common to have problems concentrating and remembering things. A lot of people with fibromyalgia have symptoms of severe that they have to quit or modify their jobs.
Because fibromyalgia is frequently misunderstood, family, friends, co-workers and even medical providers may not believe the person is actually sick. A proper diagnosis often takes months.
Common fibromyalgia symptoms include:
• Trouble sleeping
• Morning stiffness
• Headaches
• Painful menstrual periods
• Tingling or numbness in hands and feet
• Problems with thinking and memory (sometimes called “fibro fog”)
• Widespread Pain
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Depression
After two years and help with my doctor we have me on medication that seems to help.
Fibromyalgia has been a life changing to me and my family. I’m learning more everyday about fibromyalgia.
I would love to hear from you if you also have fibromyalgia or a family member has it.